Ab Rogers Design to transform National Media Museum gallery

Ab Roger’s consultancy will be redesigning a gallery space in the National Media Museum, which will open in autumn 2016.

National Media Museum exterior
National Media Museum exterior

Ab Rogers Design has been commissioned to create a new gallery space at the National Media Museum.

The National Media Museum, based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was founded in 1983 and includes 3.5 million objects based on photography, television and cinematography, alongside three cinema screens. It saw 480,000 visitors from 2013-2014.

The new interactive gallery will be a re-worked, “significantly larger” version of a previous exhibition space, says the gallery project brief. It adds that it will be the “cornerstone” of the museum’s strategy to support education of STEM subjects in local schools.

National Media Museum foyer
National Media Museum foyer

It is part of the museum’s plan to increase visitor numbers, strengthen its reputation and re-engage with local audiences, says the brief.

The gallery will focus on the scientific principles of light, sound and perception as three main themes, and will look at the “science, technology and art” behind the still and moving image.

The exhibition space will be split into five themes: the physical properties of light; the physical properties of sound; perception of movement, colour, shape, size and sound; the chemistry behind image creation; and how digital technology can be used to manipulate light and sound.

It will also include a demonstration space alongside the main gallery, which can be used to deliver workshops.

 

The museum wants to provoke “discovery, discussion and hands-on activity” with the new space, by providing opportunities to conduct experiments and undertake problem-solving activities. The gallery is aimed at children aged 7 – 14 years old, but also adults.

Jo Quinton-Tulloch, director of the National Media Museum, says: “This new space will provide an inspiring, highly immersive environment for both children and adults. It will give a greater understanding of light and sound within the context of the National Collections of photography, film and television, and their impact on our daily lives.”

She adds: “Ab Rogers Design has been selected for its vision in helping us create this cohesive museum experience, and its previous work on similar projects, including for the Australian Centre for the Moving Image and the Science Museum in London.”

The gallery will also provide access to “experiment with high-tech equipment in ways that students cannot do in school”, says the brief.

This will include specialist equipment used to manipulate light, sound and images, and interaction with immersive digital artworks, which explore the boundaries of still and moving images.

The new gallery is set to open in autumn 2016.

Museum exterior view May 2014
Museum exterior view May 2014
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